A man was charged after allegedly stealing a fossilized dinosaur claw worth $25,000 from a gem show in Tucson, Arizona last month and trying to sell it to another vendor, according to police.
39-year-old Christopher Thomas allegedly took the claw from a vendor at the city’s annual Gem and Mineral Show on Jan. 30. He then tried to sell the stolen dinosaur claw to another vendor on Feb. 8 "for a much lower price," according to police.
However, the second vendor, Adam Aaronson, recognized the item and then notified Eric Miller, the owner who had reported two dinosaur claws as stolen, according to NBC affiliate KVOA of Tucson.
Aaronson and Miller then set up Thomas, convincing him to bring in the claw for a fake potential buyer.
"When I saw it come into the room where I was hiding as the potential buyer, I was absolutely thrilled," Miller told KVOA.
They then confronted Thomas and told him they would call police. Authorities were actually on site to arrest Thomas, as he was charged with tracking stolen property.
"I told the guy, 'Sorry we have a problem, this claw is stolen property. We’re gonna have to call the police,'" Aaronson said.
One of the dinosaur claws is now back in the owner's possession in Colorado.
The second stolen claw is still missing, according to NBC News.
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